Calling all alumni: Lake Zurich is reaching out to LZ graduates
Photo by Photo used with the permission of https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj17fCI2NLdAhWihOAKHbLaC2MQjhx6BAgBEAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nwherald.com%2F2014%2F05%2F31%2Fcary-grove-high-school-commencement-ceremony%2Fdmyjqkl%2F&psig=AOvVaw2Gob9F3gd9-9BuR79UkiRl&ust=1537845608190855
Lake Zurich High School is making an effort to reach out to LZ alumni and inform them about upcoming events and allow them to share their personal successes to current students. “We spent 4 years of our life at that school and made so many memories there that we will never forget, LZ will always be a piece of us.” Hayley Eder, 2018 graduate, said.
The four years of high school can fly by quick, with it can go friends, experiences and times that will eventually fade from memories. However, what if there was a way to reconnect with the high school after graduation? Lake Zurich High School is offering LZHS alumni a way to learn about upcoming events in the highschool and to share their success with the school after graduation.
LZ wishes to help alumni reconnect with the high school and share information so that they are up to date on upcoming events, according to Bo Vossel, principal.Ways they can do that is through entering their information through google docs
“We know that there are great things happening with our LZHS alumni. With that in mind, we have been working closely with the District 95 Educational Foundation to strengthen/ renew relationships with our alumni,” Vossel stated on his blog post. “We have established two avenues for reconnecting. The first is a way to keep connected with LZHS happenings [through a google doc where they share their information], and the second is a way for LZHS alumni to share their post high school paths with our current students [through another google doc. If you are an LZHS alumni, we hope you will considering connecting with our District 95 foundation and being an ongoing part of LZHS.”
LZHS making an effort to strengthens their bonds with their graduates is a gesture appreciated by alumni like Hayley Eder, 2018 graduate. According to Eder, LZ will always be a piece of her and the school reaching out to graduates is something that her and other alumni hope will help them reconnect with the school.
“I think LZ reaching out to alumni is a good idea because we spent 4 years of our life at that school and made so many memories there that we will never forget, so LZ will always be a piece of us,” Eder said. “I know many alumni are still interested in the well being of LZHS, so it would be nice to keep hearing about the great accomplishment LZ is still having. I feel somewhat still connected. I still have many friends that attend LZ and follow some of the teachers. I still follow Bear Facts and other LZ accounts, so I see a lot of cool things going around LZ. I definitely think this would make people feel more connected.”
However, some alumni who graduated in later years and haven’t had the school reaching out to them, could have a hard time reconnecting or finding interest in LZHS once more, according to Emily Buchta, who has three brothers, Nick, Chris, and Will, who have graduated from Lake Zurich.
“Nick graduated in 2011, Chris Graduated in 2013, and Will graduated in 2016,” Buchta said. “I think it would allow my brother Will to reconnect with school but my older brothers Chris and Nick might have a harder time since things have definitely changed for LZ. They don’t talk about it much, but I bet if the school would have kept in contact more with them then my older brothers would have been more interested.”
LZHS reaching out to former students is something that even students now hope will continue, according to Buchta. It’s important for the school to continue reaching out the alumni so that they can hear of the events and things happening at LZ.
“I think the school will continue to contact people after I graduate, since it is important to have your alumni’s be apart of the school since they can help donate to fundraisers or even just have an idea of certain events.” Butcha said, “I think [reaching out to the alumni] is worth it because like I said you can have a strong base of alumni who know what’s going on and what the school needs help with or when the school is doing certain fundraisers.”
This is Marissa's first year on staff and second year in the journalism program. As a sophomore, Marissa likes to take long walks to the fridge and spends...
Heather Buckley Pagh • Sep 25, 2018 at 10:07 pm
Adan LZ Alum (1994) I am excited to see LZHS teaching out to its alumni and really getting them involved. I lived in LZ until 2015 and am back to have my kids attend such a great school system. I am excited to have my kids graduate from the same school both my husband and I did!!
Also, I coached Marissa (author) and am proud to see her writings and excitement for the LZ area continue!!! #onceabearalwaysabear
AJ • Sep 24, 2018 at 3:05 pm
I never got to graduate because a self-important vice-principal wouldn’t let me enroll, the fall after my senior yea,r to pick up the two half-credits I needed to graduate. He recommended I enroll in the College of Lake Country instead, and that I could get my diploma after completing classes on the same topics. I wasn’t living at home–I was out on my own during my senior year (a known fact to the administration)–and was in no position to attend college classes. When I had to decide whether to use my limited funds to go to work or go to class, I reasoned I had to work to earn more gas money. I failed out of college. I never got to walk with my class (’89), all because a vice-principal said I couldn’t return “to [his] school.” To this day–even though years I later returned to school and earned a master’s degree–I still bear the shame of not graduating high school, Lake Zurich Senior High specifically. That’s why I’ve not kept in touch, and why I don’t intend to become active with the alumni association.